TV News: Bones, Downton, Defiance, Roughness

BonesFox has renewed its procedural “Bones” for a ninth season, making it the longest-running drama series currently on the network. Stars Emily Deschanel and David Boreanaz closed new deals right before the New Year.

The series returns for the second half of season eight with a two-hour premiere on Monday January 14th. [Source: EW]

Downton AbbeyThough it already wrapped some time ago in the UK, the third season of “Downton Abbey” premiered in the U.S. on PBS on Sunday where it scored a record 7.9 million viewers.

That rating quadrupled the average viewings for PBS primetime shows, and nearly doubled the premiere of the second season (4.2m) from a year ago. [Source: The Daily Mail]

DefianceSyfy’s “Defiance” will have its series premiere Monday, April 15th at 9pm with a two-hour episode.

The series will unite scripted television and online gaming for the very first time. Grant Bowler Julie Benz, Tony Curran, Jaime Murray, Graham Greene and Mia Kirshner star. [Source: Zap2It]

Necessary RoughnessUSA Network’s “Necessary Roughness” has been renewed for a ten-episode third season. [Source: The Live Feed]